Album Reviews

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Album Reviews
Lanois Project Brings the Funk
Michael Fremer  |  Aug 01, 2011  |  1 comments

The absolutely stunning, immediate and transparent sound is the first thing that hits you about this double LP, 3 sided record, which documents Daniel Lanois’ touring band. That’s partly a result of the stunning sound, yes, but it’s also partly because so much else recorded these days, just plain sucks sonically. The recording has "jump" quality, meaning a few vocals have such verisimilitude you might jump up and feel an adrenaline surge thinking a live human has invaded your listening room (watch out for that on "Sing.")

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Album Reviews
Lanois's Latest Is an Ambient Guitar Extravaganza
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 01, 2005  |  0 comments

Daniel Lanois begins this instrumental excursion with a great wash of flanged psychedelic backwash, ribbed with pedal steel guitar in an upward thrust of musical birth that oozes from the speakers like sonic Cool-Whip.

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Album Reviews
Late, Great Rockin' Guitar Master Gets His Due
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 01, 2011  |  1 comments

It's easy to imagine a generation of young guitar students wearing out the grooves of this set of  "urban instrumental surf music."

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Album Reviews
Latest R.E.M. 180g 1LP Reissues From Craft Recordings Focus on Two Somewhat Underappreciated But Quite Spin-Worthy 21st Century Albums, 2001’s Classic-Tinged Reveal and 2008’s Punk-Leaning Accelerate
Mark Smotroff  |  Sep 08, 2023  |  7 comments

Craft Recordings just served up the next pair of 180g 1LP offerings in their ongoing R.E.M. reissue series — namely, 180g 1LP editions of May 2001’s classic-sounding Reveal and March 2008’s power-pop punk slammer, Accelerate. Read Mark Smotroff’s combo review of Reveal and Accelerate to see if either or both LPs are worthy additions to your vinyl collection. . .

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Album Reviews
Laura's Classic Reissued By Pure Pleasure
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 01, 2009  |  0 comments

Laura Nyro’s most personal, mature and intense album of love’s struggles proved to be the stopping point for many fans of the earlier gospel-y good time Nyro who sung “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “Eli’s Comin’,” “Wedding Bell Blues,” “Stoney End,” and even “And When I Die,” which was celebratory despite the song’s morbid title.

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Album Reviews
Led Zeppelin III Tones Down the "Heavy"
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 17, 2014  |  49 comments
The third Led Zeppelin album has its heavy moments but most often the pace is faster, the groove lighter and at times it's downright celebratory.

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Album Reviews
Lee Morgan Leads Jazz Supergroup
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 01, 2008  |  0 comments

Let the Blue Note reissue riot continue! Fans of the cool, bluesy, gospely Blue Note sound can’t help but feel blessed at the output, whether from Classic in mono or from Analogue Productions and Music Matters in stereo.

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Album Reviews
Legendary Beach Boys Album Finally Released
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 01, 2012  |  2 comments

First of all the back cover photo doesn't include Brian Wilson! What's that all about?

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Album Reviews
Legendary Early World-Pacific Gil Album Now Available!
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 01, 2007  |  0 comments

The arranger Gil Evans was on a roll when this cool, yet raucous big band set of standards was recorded in New York City back in 1958. The California native and big band veteran had already arranged Miles Davis’ Miles Ahead and the cool and deep Porgy and Bess. Featured soloist Cannonball Adderley’s Blue Note classic Somethin’ Else had also hit big by then (okay, it was really a Miles Davis album, but Cannonball’s playing heated up Miles’s cool show).

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Album Reviews
Legendary Guitar Great Peter Green Feted By All-Star Cast
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 01, 2005  |  1 comments

Sad but true: a generation of white Americans first came to know the blues—a black American art form—by hearing it played second-hand thanks to the dedication of die-hard British blues enthusiasts like Long John Baldry, John Mayall, Eric Clapton, and of course, Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green. The list goes on.

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Album Reviews
Legendary Power Pop Classic Issued on CD For the First Time!
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 01, 2010  |  0 comments

In the early �70�s, with the second great rock era in its death throws, the rock intelligensia hungered for something, anything that might reinvigorate the softening musical firmament.

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Album Reviews
Legendary Stones Concert Gets Box Set Respect
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 01, 2010  |  0 comments

Was this the greatest rock and roll concert recording ever as some suggest? Is it deserving of deluxe box set status? The producers of this ultra-sumptuous box obviously thought so!

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Album Reviews
Let's Impeach The President!
Michael Fremer  |  Dec 01, 2006  |  0 comments

Subtlety was not in Neil Young’s game plan when he sat down to write the tunes here, probably in a burst of creative energy born of frustration with the war in Iraq and other Bush administration activities over the past few years. Young’s moved quite a ways since his romance with the Reagan administration.

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Album ReviewsFeatures
Let’s Spin! Celebrating National Vinyl Record Day With a Few of My Favorite Current LPs (and a Cool New 45)
Mike Mettler  |  Aug 12, 2024  |  5 comments

The official National Calendar says today, August 12, is National Vinyl Record Day, so I cued up a few of my favorite new vinyl offerings — including the latest 2LP studio set from a longtime favorite, a 4LP box set with an album I’ve been waiting decades to get on vinyl, and a brand-new-to-2024 throwback 45 — to celebrate the theme of the day. Read on to see what they are, and feel free to chime in about your own favorite LPs you were spinning on your own turntable on this most hallowed of days. . .

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Album Reviews
Libertines 2002 Debut Gets To Returning Tracking Angle Writer McGill
Michael McGill  |  Sep 01, 2005  |  1 comments

The Libertines, on their debut album Up the Bracket album (issued in the UK, October, 2002, and March, 2003 in America), deliver well-written punk-pop in a ragged-but-right style that teases with echoes of The Clash, The New York Dolls and Pavement. Avoiding the polar pitfalls of Green Day's predictability and Modest Mouse's endless demands on the listener's patience, they thread the skinny needle of superb garage rock, coming out the other side grinning, sweaty, and deserving of your buying them a Guinness.

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